From: "Rick Rutan" Subject: Sparc gap Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:11:56 -0400 Dee, Another nice looking SparcGap. I can add a little to the history page, though. I think Harold Ballew, W4TMB, may have been a charter member. A couple names are misspelled in the history listings. W4KQR was Doug Habgood (not Hap). His wife was also a ham but I can't remember her call. Their daughter was Dorothy Habgood K4LFA, who married George Davidson, K4ENW. I was best man at their wedding. The only two people in the ceremony not licensed as hams were the preacher and Doug's son John Habgood (who still works for the city of St. Pete). W4FPC (his call is the Pinellas County call) was named Morgan McSheehy (not sheely). He was my Elmer. He was a terrific brass pounder, but had a very difficult fist to read. Kathy Seeds, W4BAV married a ham named Soule after her first husband Dick Seeds died.(not sure of spelling of Soule but he was a club member too and Dick Seeds was a club officer)). Interesting side fact. In the early 1950s The area around 49th Street just south of Central was a hotbed of hams and we never interfered with each other on AM or CW. Within a 6 block area were W4HUY, W4TMB, K4ENW, K4BNE, K4LFA and a guy named Burch Fawcett whose call I have forgotten. K4ENW and I went to Tampa together to get our licenses from an old FCC examiner named Chalmer Neeb. ENW and I were instrumental in starting the Florida Midday Traffic Net on AM at 7240 KC. We would key our stand-alone VFOs during the net and send code to each other. We lived about a block apart, me on Sixth Avenue S and him on Emerson Avenue, one block over. W4TMB (Turn My Beam) was city editor of the old Evening Independent, Kathy Seeds/Soule was a sales employee for the paper and K4BNE was a printer. There was another ham there later, but I can't recall his name or call. That was when I was in my infancy as a ham. Got my novice ticket in 1952. It was KN4BNE then. Just thought I'd share that with you.